


The Hints of Something Yet To Come

by squidgie



Series: The Shrine of Painful Memories [2]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: comment_fic, M/M, Pre-Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-13
Updated: 2018-03-13
Packaged: 2019-03-31 12:51:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,715
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13975534
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/squidgie/pseuds/squidgie
Summary: Set just days after chapter one of this work, to fill this prompt: Author's Choice, any character(s), the first cup of hot coffee on a chilly morning.In which John needs more sleep, threatens Rodney (in a good way), and both men start to realize exactly what this thing budding between them is.





	The Hints of Something Yet To Come

**Author's Note:**

> Technically this also fills my own prompt: Stargate Atlantis, John Sheppard / or + Rodney McKay, Falling asleep after movie night  
> And it also qualifies for my trope bingo square: Sharing a Bed

While John and Rodney had been close before Rodney's issue with the brain parasite, judging by how little time that they spent apart after the incident, Rodney realized John was hardly ever farther away than a shadow. Neither had a particular issue with personal space, as long as it was with each other. It was true; when Radek or Miko stood too close, Rodney had the instinct to step back a pace. It was worse when Keller was around; when his memories of the incident came back to him, and the times that Keller recorded him, it felt almost as if she had manipulated him in some way. It made him uncomfortable enough to request post-mission physicals from Biro.

"But Doctor McKay," Licia responded. "I'm usually just a _coroner_. Are you sure you don't want someone else?"

 _That_ had been an awkward conversation. But at least Rodney had gotten through it.

Rodney would have missed dinner, were it not for John stopping by his lab to check on him for the fourth time that day. "Mess hall. Now," John ordered. And when Rodney pulled a powerbar out of his desk drawer, John grabbed it, tossed it back in the drawer, and pointed his finger to the exit. "Don't make me get Chewie to carry you. He's already pissed off because one of the new recruits managed to pin him this morning." 

He studied John's expression, which held a hint of playfulness, but also some angst. " _Fine_ ," Rodney huffed, and closed the lid of his laptop, then walked out of the lab.

As Rodney mopped up the last of his dinner with the Pegasus version of a biscuit, John asked, "You don't have plans, right?"

Rodney stuffed the doughy treat into his mouth, then crossed his arms. "I could have plans," he said around a mouthful of food. It would have sounded much more defiant if he hadn't pronounced it like a seven year old missing a handful of teeth.

John rolled his eyes. "I didn't think so," he said, then stood up. "Movie night. Your quarters. Half an hour."

It sounded more like an order than an invitation.

After swallowing, Rodney asked, "Please tell me we're not watching Raiders again, are we?"

" _Somebody_ ," John smiled as he stood up, "managed to get a copy of that new Angelina Jolie action flick." He patted his breast pocket. "Unless you've got something against action movies." But before Rodney could respond, John smirked and then turned to walk out of the Mess.

~*~*~

More than an hour later, Rodney was absently working on his laptop when his door chimed, and then immediately opened. He always had to open the door for visitors, but of course, Atlantis made an exception for John. He could go anywhere in Atlantis, with the city getting rid of any obstacle in his path and of course, she considered Rodney's door an obstacle. John walked in, the dark circles that remained under his eyes betraying his upbeat demeanor. "Everything okay?" Rodney asked.

"Sorry 'bout that," John said as he sat down on the bed. "Evan needed to talk about some stuff."

A look of concern grew on Rodney's face. "What's going on with Lorne?"

John shrugged. "Well officially, he didn't tell, and I didn't ask. But he's moving in with one of your guys."

"One of my guys?" Rodney asks. His mind reels as he goes through the expedition Rolodex in his head when he focuses on a gangly looking plant guy. "Oh god. Not the botanist, is it?"

John immediately took a defensive posture, sitting up a little straighter on the bed and crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, Parrish. What about him?"

"He's in the soft sciences," Rodney scoffs. "I mean at least Coleman's a physicist. And yes, she's a woman. So, okay, there's that new guy. Ulsh. He's a damned good mathematician. Not as good as _me_ , but..."

John just smiled fondly as he shook his head, then chuckled lightly. "You can't help who you fall in love with, Rodney," John said, his eyes crinkling up at the sides.

Rodney shrugged. As he held John's gaze, there seemed to be a hint of momentary panic in his expression, but he managed to bury it again just as quick. 

"How 'bout we watch the movie?" John asked as the tone of his voice shifted to a harder edge ever so slightly. He reached over and took Rodney's laptop, setting it on the bed between them, then inserted the USB key.

"Yeah, okay," Rodney lied. There was something in the conversation that he wanted to continue exploring, but at the moment, the emotional wall John seemed to erect between them felt insurmountable. "Are you okay here?" Rodney asked as he put a pillow behind his back and got settled.

"You've got, like, the largest bed in the whole city," John says. He made an almost comedic effort to look around. "So unless you've got a couch hidden in here somewhere in your quarters, this'll have to do." He leaned up and pressed a few buttons on the laptop, and the movie title sequence started to scroll.

Try as he might, Rodney couldn't get all that comfortable. Sure, physically he was okay. But he's never been this close to John when they were on their own. Okay, so there's the occasional off-world campouts, and then-

"Stop thinking so loud," John barked, interrupting Rodney's slide into a mini panic attack. "'s a movie. Watch."

So Rodney took a deep breath, let go, and just watched.

~*~*~

Rodney only bitches the first two times characters in the movie 'curve' the trajectory of a bullet. He's silenced the first time by John's " _Rod_ ney!", and the second time by just a look. When the credits finally roll, Rodney thinks the brightness of the lights up slowly, to let their eyes get adjusted, and finds John fast asleep. He couldn't help but stare; John looked at peace, and at least half a decade younger than he does when he was awake, carrying the burden of Atlantis' issues. Rodney knew he should wake John up, but also knew that John hasn't had much sleep lately. He'd never complain about it, but Rodney could tell when the Colonel needed more rest. So Rodney justified it in his mind as he lifted the laptop from the bed, and moved it to a nearby stand. Figuring his bed was much larger than most, and there's plenty of room, he decided to get some sleep himself. So he justified letting John sleep, and instead of waking him, reached for his nearby orange fleece, which he used to cover John up as best he could, then slipped under the covers.

Only sleep wouldn't come for Rodney - not for hours. He dozed fitfully, eyes opening every time John's breath hitched, or every time John's hand came out from under the fleece to scratch at his stubble-covered cheek. It wasn't until way past midnight, as Rodney stared at John's sleeping form, that John's eyes opened. "Sleep, Rodney," John muttered as he turned over. And just like that, he was out again.

Rodney focused on John's even breaths until he, too, was mesmerized into slumber.

~*~*~

When Rodney woke up, he was alone, the only trace of John Sheppard was a bunching up of Rodney's bedlinens, and Rodney's orange fleece placed neatly on the back of a nearby chair. And though it had been an innocent night, it awoke something in Rodney that he'd long thought he didn't deserve. He just hoped that John's early disappearance didn't bode poorly for their friendship.

After showering, Rodney was on his way to the Mess when he got an urgent call from Zelenka, so he diverted to his lab. It was a chilly morning on New Lantea, which made Rodney miss his fleece. He even missed the brown swill the SGC considered coffee rations, if only for the warmth. Still, after talking to Zelenka, he figured he'd try and get through the problem, and then head out for coffee and his jacket. Rodney was three pages deep into a mixture of Cobol and Ancient when he felt someone else's presence in the lab. He glanced around and found John Sheppard, a nervous look on his face even as he tried to look nonchalant, leaning against the doorjamb. He smiled, then walked up to Rodney, a cup in his hand. "Figure you might want some of this," he said and handed over the steaming cup. "I didn't see you in the Mess this morning."

Rodney lifted the cup to his nose and inhaled deeply, the aroma hitting him faster than the caffeine could. "This is..." He sniffed again. "Guatemalan?" he asked accusingly. "Wait." He sniffed again. " _Kona_?" Rodney took a sip and let it roll over his tongue, then put down the mug. "John Sheppard, I swear if you've been holding out on me-"

John just laughed. "Relax, Rodney," he replied. "'s actually something I had brought in on the last Daedalus shipment for your birthday this year. I was saving it, but..." He reached out and put a hand on Rodney's shoulder. "I wanted to do something nice for you since you let me sleep last night."

And just like that, the awkwardness that Rodney felt last night completely fell away.

The look Rodney and John shared said much more than either man could express verbally. Rodney looked up through his eyelashes at John, and John just replied with a smile and a shrug. "So, we okay?" John asked quietly.

"Better than okay, yeah," Rodney said as he reached out and touched John's elbow.

Doctor Zelenka and Miko chose that moment to scurry through the opened door, each speaking over the other until they came to a halt in front of John and Rodney. It took all of half a hummingbird's heartbeat for Radek to read the situation. But before he could do anything, John hiked his thumb over his shoulder. "Hey, Doctor Z, Doctor K. I'm just gonna..." And with that, John smiled at Rodney, then briskly walked out of the lab. But not before turning back one more time as he rounded the corner and smiled at Rodney. It was a smile full of promise, and of things to come.


End file.
